Refusing a breath or blood test after an OWI arrest in Michigan

In Michigan, refusing the evidential breath, blood or urine test after an OWI arrest triggers a license suspension of 1 year (2 years for a second refusal within 7 years) and 6 points, unless a hearing is requested within 14 days and the driver prevails.^[1][2][8] A refusal does not guarantee there will be no test: the officer may seek a court order, and a blood draw under a search warrant is outside the implied consent statute.^[3][4] This page explains what the statutes say happens next. It does not suggest whether to take or refuse a test.

The roadside PBT and the evidential test are different

	Roadside PBT	Evidential test after arrest
Refusal by most drivers	Civil infraction.[9]	Suspension of 1 year, or 2 years for a second refusal within 7 years.[1]
Points	2 points if the driver is under 21.[10]	6 points.[2]
Commercial driver	Misdemeanor up to 93 days and/or $100, plus a 24-hour out-of-service order.[11]	Commercial privileges suspended for 1 year; longer for a repeat refusal in a commercial vehicle.[5][12]

Taking the PBT does not satisfy the evidential test; the person stays subject to the implied consent and refusal rules.^[13] The PBT is covered on the roadside preliminary breath test.

What the officer does after a refusal

1. Seeks a court order, if the officer chooses. Under MCL 257.625d(1), a test shall not be given without a court order, but the officer may seek to obtain one.^[3]
2. Reports the refusal. The officer must immediately send the Secretary of State a written report that the officer had reasonable grounds, that the person refused, and that the person was advised of the consequences.^[14]
3. Gives written notice of the 14-day hearing right. The notice must say that failing to request a hearing within 14 days will result in suspension, and that a lawyer is not required but is permitted.^[8]
4. Takes the license and issues a paper permit. On a refusal the officer confiscates the license and, if the person is otherwise eligible, issues a temporary license.^[15] If the case is not prosecuted, the temporary license lasts the earlier of 90 days or until the refusal suspension takes effect.^[16]

The 14-day deadline

The 14 days run from the date of the officer's written notice, not from the arrest.^[8] A request sent by mail must be postmarked within that period; a faxed or hand-delivered request must arrive at the division office in Lansing within it, and the request must be in writing with the information the rule lists.^[17] If no hearing is requested, the Secretary of State suspends or denies the license for 1 year, or 2 years for a second or later refusal within 7 years; a resident without a license is denied one for the same periods.^[1]

The refusal hearing in brief

If a hearing is requested, it is to be scheduled within 45 days after the arrest, with no more than one adjournment of up to 14 days per party; the hearing officer may not impose a sanction for missing these time limits.^[18] The hearing decides only four questions:

1. Whether the officer had reasonable grounds to believe the person committed a listed crime.^[19]
2. Whether the person was placed under arrest for that crime.^[19]
3. If the person refused, whether the refusal was reasonable.^[19]
4. Whether the person was advised of the rights under section 625a(6).^[19]

The police officer has the burden of proof, the driver has it only on an affirmative defense, and the standard is a preponderance of the evidence.^[20] If the officer fails to appear without reasonable cause, the matter is dismissed; if the driver fails to appear, the suspension is imposed as a default.^[21] The officer or prosecutor may also withdraw the refusal report in writing, in which case the Secretary of State takes no action.^[22] The Secretary of State says its hearings are held by video conference and that the arresting officer also appears in implied consent matters.^[23] The full procedure is on the implied consent hearing.

If the driver loses the hearing

A driver who does not prevail receives the same 1-year or 2-year suspension and may petition the circuit court of the county where the arrest was made.^[24] The petition is due within 63 days after the decision, or within 182 days if the court finds good cause.^[25] For a first refusal, the court may take testimony, examine all the facts, and affirm, modify or set aside the suspension.^[26]

Section 625f contains no provision letting the Secretary of State issue its own restricted license during a refusal suspension; the route is a circuit-court petition.^[27] A circuit court may order one only for listed trips, such as between home and work, and only if the person states under oath, and the court finds, that the person cannot use public transportation and has no family member or other person able to drive them.^[28] The court may not do so if the person had a refusal suspension within the preceding 7 years, had more than 24 points in the 2 years before the suspension, or for a commercial vehicle requiring a group designation.^[29] See appealing a license sanction to circuit court.

Commercial drivers and out-of-state drivers

A refusal while driving a commercial or noncommercial vehicle requires a 1-year suspension of all vehicle group designations.^[5] For a refusal while driving a commercial vehicle, a second refusal in a separate incident within 10 years brings revocation of group designations for at least 10 years.^[12] A nonresident's Michigan operating privilege is suspended for a refusal, and the Secretary of State must notify the driver's home state once the action is final.^[30] See CDL disqualification after an OWI.

Refusal at trial

Under MCL 257.625a(9), a refusal is admissible in an OWI-type prosecution only to show that a test was offered, not as evidence of innocence or guilt, and the jury must be instructed accordingly.^[6] The current instruction is M Crim JI 15.8, which tells jurors the refusal evidence "is not evidence of guilt"; it was numbered 15.9 before February 2021.^[7] See can a refusal be used against you at trial?

Common misunderstandings

• "If you refuse, they have no evidence." The officer may seek a court order for a test, and other admissible evidence of impairment is not limited by the chemical-test rules.^[3][31]
• "The 14 days start at the arrest." They start on the date of the officer's written notice.^[8]
• "Refusing is a crime in Michigan." For the evidential test, the sanctions the statute sets for a refusal are a license suspension and 6 points; the US Supreme Court has held that motorists cannot be deemed to consent to a blood test on pain of a criminal offense. A commercial driver's refusal of the roadside PBT is the exception: that is a misdemeanor.^{[1][2][32][11]}
• "A hardship license is easy to get after a refusal." Only a circuit court can order one, only for a first refusal, and only on sworn proof that no other transportation is available.^[27][28][29]

A question the statute does not answer

Section 625f does not say whether a refusal suspension and a later suspension after an OWI conviction from the same arrest run one after the other or at the same time, so this page states no rule on it. The six refusal points are not doubled if a conviction comes from the same incident.^[2]